


12th Perigee's Spirit

by EchoesReverb



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/F, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, Twelfth Perigee's Eve
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-08
Updated: 2017-12-08
Packaged: 2019-02-12 05:45:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12952608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EchoesReverb/pseuds/EchoesReverb
Summary: Kanaya realizes that her relationship with Vriska is starting to hit a bit of a dip, and after bringing it up to her, Vriska decides they need to go on a date right now! On the way, they get human Christmas shopping done as well, and run into some friends!





	12th Perigee's Spirit

It was a rather cold winter evening, perfect for going out and playing in the snow. That is, if you enjoyed being outside in the first place. Vriska was still in bed; she was still getting used to using beds over recuperacoons, but they proved to be far less messy and far more… welcoming. Oddly enough, she found that she no longer needed the sopor slime within the coons to help herself sleep at night. Whether this was because she had dark thoughts all the time anyways was another subject for debate, but that’s far from the truth in actuality. Well, most of the time at least. Vriska was roused awake by a voice- one most familiar to her, that brought joy and calm to her psyche. It was Kanaya, her matesprit. 

“Wake Up, Vriska. It’s 11 In The Morning And You Have Not Eaten.”

Vriska only offered a slight groan in response, and slowly sat up from beneath the messy mound of sheets that she never bothered to fix. “Kan, pleeeeeeeease……..”

Kanaya stifled a slight laugh, and reached down onto the bed to pull Vriska out from under the sheets, to which she responded with more groaning.

“I Will Drag You To The Other End Of The Hive If I Have To!”

“Fine!!!!!!!!” Vriska kicked off the pile of sheets she was previously resting in, and stood on top of the bed, triumphantly placing her hands on her hips. Kanaya snorted in response, trying to hold in a small laugh. Afterwards, she made her way to the kitchen to grab pretty much anything she could find. With a generally dissatisfied stare at the pantry, she walked over to the freezer and pulled out a waffle. Without even putting it into the toaster, she started biting down into it, and was met with a rather confused stare from Kanaya. Vriska sat down at the one table in the kitchen, followed by Kanaya sitting down next to her with a chuckle.

“You Could Have Cooked That Before Biting Into It, Vriska.”

All Vriska could offer was a shrug. Besides, the waffle was pretty much gone already. Out of sight, out of mind, as they say. Aside from being forced out of bed, she was having a rather nice almost-afternoon, seeing that she just woke up and it was nearly noon. Kanaya, on the other hand, was stuck pondering on something she’d been meaning to ask about for a while… she waited until her partner was done eating and cleaning up after herself, of course.

“Vriska I Would Like To Converse With You On Something I Find Quite Important.” She said, interlacing her fingers together. The sudden change in tone was… quite a surprise for Vriska. It definitely woke her up, that’s for sure. “Is it something 8ad?” She asked, a slight pang of worry coursing through her speech. Kanaya placed her hands on the table and slowly nodded, but then shook her head quickly. “No, Well... It Isn’t Necessarily Bad.” She paused. “It’s Just That You Worry Me Sometimes.”

Vriska furrowed her brow rather inquisitively. What did she mean by that? Was she talking about the time she punched out that one rude guy in the convenience store? Well, that hardly scratched the surface of all of the stupid or risky things she’d done, but it was never meant to intentionally harm herself. At least, that’s what she always told herself. “I worry you???????? What m8kes me worrying?” 

“You’re Always Getting Into Such Dangerous Situations. It Might Be The ‘Mom’ In Me Telling You To Be More Careful, But I Would Like It If You Weren’t So Reckless.” She placed a hand on Vriska’s lap. “I Don’t Want To Lose You. I Don’t Even Get To See You Often Anymore Because You’re Always Either Out Getting In Trouble Or Asleep Here At The House.”

Yikes. Vriska didn’t really think of that- she hadn’t really gone anywhere with Kanaya in a few months, and 12th Perigee’s was right around the corner, too… yeah, she really screwed the pooch on this one. She still had time to fix it! She always had time! Vriska remained silent for around a minute, before grabbing Kanaya’s hand and standing up. “We’re going out tonight. Time doesn’t matter to me, I just feel pretty 8ad that I’ve 8een kinda ignoring you. You get to pick the pl8ce, I’m p8ying for any food we get.” Which, after a short search through her sylladex, might not be all that much food considering she never carried much money with her. Kanaya didn’t really know what to say- she was glad that Vriska knew she wasn’t spending enough time with her, but at the same time it felt… a little weird to just have an impromptu date like this.

“Well, I Was Planning On Going Out Shopping For Gifts Anyways So This Works Out Fine.” Kanaya’s mouth bent into a small smile, and she stood up. She was already dressed, so all she needed was to grab her things and wait for Vriska. Who was… already changed out of her pajamas and into a pair of jeans and a letterman. “...Would You Like Me To Fix Your Bedhead?” She asked with a stifled laugh. Gods, Vriska’s head look like it met a weedwacker. She did just roll out of bed, after all. The mess-head in question blushed a slight dark blue, and sighed. “I always end up ripping a 8unch of hairs out anyw8ys, so…….. yes.” Kanaya laughed, and reached for a hairbrush from a nearby counter. Honestly, knowing her, there was a brush in every room just to deal with Vriska’s nest of a head. Vriska sat down in a chair with the backing against her front so she could rest her heads on the top while Kanaya did her thing. She could immediately tell that she’d started working on it because she felt a sharp pain all along her scalp from her hair getting tugged by the knotting and tangles. Kanaya struggled to pull the brush all along the length of Vriska’s hair without ripping a bunch of it out, but with probably an hour or two of finesse and Vriska screaming internally, all of the knots had been fixed and her hair was completely de-tangled. “You Would Have Such Beautiful Hair If You Took Better Care Of it.” Honestly, she should start making her condition more often because this was getting a little ridiculous! At least it didn’t look bad, though, it just felt a little rough on the hands.

Vriska stood up from the chair and pushed it back under the table, then ran a hand through her bangs to brush them off to the side. “Jeez, it went from running my fingers through wiring to running them through practically nothing!!!!!!!!” Kanaya nodded, giving her a look that said ‘I told you so’ before standing up to give her a kiss on the cheek. “Are You Ready To Go Now?” Vriska nodded and started to head for the front door, and stopped once she grabbed the knob.

“Uh…….. where are we going?” It was rather important to know, obviously. The last thing they wanted was to get lost out in the cold, since they went everywhere on foot. “Well, I Have A Few Things I Want To Get Done Before We Actually Get To The Date, If You Don’t Mind.” Vriska shook her head. “No, I don’t mind at all. You s8id you wanted to go shopping for 12th Perigee’s gifts, right? How a8out we start our ‘epic quest’ at the mall?” Kanaya nodded. They’d spent a few sweeps on Earth together already, and mall-shopping around the holidays was always a rather hectic- yet fun experience. The music, the discounts, it was all blended together perfectly to ensure a nice evening with whoever was there with you. “The Mall Is A Perfect Place To Start!” 

The walk there wasn’t horribly wrong. Their house was just outside of a nearby city, so put together with having to maneuver around a bunch of buildings, it took about thirty minutes to get there if you were pretty fast. On the way there, they ran into many people. Some jolly, others frustrated due to not being able to afford anything despite all of the deals going on centered around generosity. Whether it was corporate generosity like taking five dollars off a total amount of five-hundred or giving away free meals- everything about this particular part of the city was meant to spread good vibes as best as it could. 

As Vriska and Kanaya approached the mall, they spotted a very familiar face about to enter the building as well. It was Dave- who was surprisingly just in a short-sleeved shirt and jeans. Vriska approached him with a rather… confused look. “Aren’t you cold, Strider????????” Dave responded by adjusting his glasses and giving a single finger gun. “I’m freezing my ass off.” “Well Why Don’t You Come Inside Before You Catch A Cold?” Dave pulled a tissue out of his pocket and proceeded to blow his nose. “Jury says I’ve already committed the crime of catching a cold.” “That was some 8om8-ass alliteration 8ut you should seriously come inside 8efore you die or something!!!!!!!!” Dave tossed the tissue into a nearby trash receptacle and shrugged. “I was waiting for Dirk to show up but it’s already been like fifteen minutes past when he said he was gonna be here, so I guess I’mma be third-wheeling the fuck out of this one.” 

Vriska and Kanaya looked at each other, then back to Dave. “Well We Don’t Want You To Feel Like We’re Ignoring You But We Were Planning To Have A Date Right After We Finished Shopping.” Dave whistled, and looked over at Kanaya. “Ayy, so you two are a thing now?” “Yes We Are Together.” “Yeah I’m gonna be third-wheeling this SUPER hard, but I’ll survive because I’m a time god or some shit like that.” Vriska smirked, and poked Dave in the shoulder, bringing his attention to her. “Hey, first one in the 8all pit in the center of the mall gets free drinks from the loser.” Dave gasped, putting his hands on the sides of his face. “Vriska! How did you know my one weakness… ball pits!” Kanaya furrowed her brow at Vriska, who was currently cheesing super hard and trying not to cause a scene. “You just said 8alls are your weakness.” Dave crossed his arms and nodded. “You’re goddamn right, now let’s skedaddle to that ballpit and get things all shitnasty while I wait for Dirk to get here.” Vriska cracked her knuckles, and ran to the entrance, stopping right in front of the door, where Dave took his place as well at what was suddenly the starting line. Kanaya sighed, whispering to herself “I Have To Deal With Such Children…” However, she didn’t see any point in staying behind while all of the commotion went on around her, so she walked in past the two and stood by the entrance, waiting for the chaos to ensue. She held up three fingers, counting down from three… two… 

One!

Dave and Vriska rocketed off away from the starting line, weaving around and sometimes over the crowd of people that was covering the entirety of the ground level. Vriska, however, saw it better to just fly across everything with her godtier wings, teasing Dave with childish mocking gestures as she passed over him. Dave huffed, and pointed a finger up at Vriska. “Not cool, Serket!” Vriska chuckled and continued flying towards the ball pit, but screeched to a grinding halt when she saw that Kanaya was already sitting cross-legged in the center of the ballpit by herself. “Kanaya!!!!!!!!” She started laughing, and placed a hand over her mouth to quell said laughter so she could respond. “What, You Thought I Was Going To Stay Out Of The Fun, Honey?” Vriska sighed, and landed just outside the ballpit. “How did you get here so fast????????” Kanaya shrugged. “I Know My Way Around The Building, I Suppose. By The Way, Dave Is Right Behind You.” Vriska blinked a few times, then looked back over her shoulder to see a somewhat annoyed Dave charging right at Vriska. She didn’t have much time to react before getting quite literally tackled into the ballpit.

Dave let go of Vriska once she was half-buried in balls, and picked one up to throw directly at her face. “This is the fun police, you’re under arrest for a class A Dick Move.” Vriska moved a hand up to shield her face from the incoming attack, and couldn’t help but laugh at Dave and stand up. “Kanaya got here 8efore the 8oth of us, guess we gotta 8oth 8uy her a drink.” Kanaya stifled a laugh, and shook her head. “I Did Not Mean To Intervene With Who Won, I Simply Wanted To Be Here When You Both Arrived So We Did Not Get Separated.” Dave shrugged, it was all in good fun to him. “I mean, we’ll still buy you drinks ‘cuz you technically won, and we never announced that it was just me and Vriska doing it.” Kanaya placed a hand to her chin, and sighed. “I Suppose I Will Claim The Prize This Time.” She turned to Vriska, and smiled. “There’s This Coffee Place Further Down The Aisle Directly To Our Left. I’m Fine With Whatever You Two Want To Get Me.”

Vriska reached out to Kanaya to help her up out of the ball pit, and nodded. “I know what pl8ce you’re talking a8out! They have a special going on right now for ginger8read lattes, I think.” Dave snorted. “Yeah, they taste like critical ass.” Kanaya chuckled. “Well Considering That It’s Not My Money, I’ll Be The Judge Of That.” Dave looked somewhat disgusted. “You’re going to make me spend my money on that atrocity and not let me drink it? That’s hella bad.” He smirked and shook his head, and was soon distracted by a slight rumbling in his pocket. After a quick look down at his phone screen, he slipped the phone back into his pocket and looked back to the couple. “Dirk said he’s at the entrance, I’m gonna head back. You two continue being super gay, alright? Have a nice night.” He gave a slight wave, handed Kanaya a bit of cash for the drink he owed, and started walking back to the entrance of the mall.

“Well It Was A Pleasant Surprise To Run Into Dave Like That.” She slipped the money into her coat pocket and reached for Vriska’s hand, which she willingly laced her fingers into. Vriska reached into her pocket and pulled out a ball from the ball pit, which was immediately discarded back to its origin. They were on their way to get a quick drink and finally start their shopping for 12th Perigee’s. The walk to the small shop was surprisingly arid compared to the rest of the mall. There were only a couple of people there. It was almost like everyone had disappeared, but that was perfect for the two trolls on their way to spend time together. It seemed like all of the quality time they had was either at home or in a crowded restaurant- so they were happy to finally have somewhere to go where it was just them, that didn’t include sitting around back home.

Kanaya reached forward with her free hand to push the door open, which caused a bell attached to the top of its frame to ring, signalling the employees to prepare for their orders. Unfortunately, it seemed like the lack of a rush was getting to the employees as well, for the cashier was sleeping at the counter, head placed right next to the cash register. Vriska snickered and walked over to them to mess around, but was stopped by Kanaya when she strided over and gave the cashier a few taps upside the head. They were roused awake, and jumped a little bit when they saw two people already just standing there. Their expression went from somewhat groggy to completely alert very quickly.

“Oh gosh I was asleep!! I’m soso so sorry, what would you two like to order?”

Kanaya shook her head. “No No It’s Fine I See That Things Aren’t Exactly Attention-Grabbing At The Moment.” Vriska raised her eyebrows at Kanaya, and leaned forward into her line of sight. “Well, you gra8 my attention all the time.” Kanaya blushed slightly, and chuckled before giving Vriska a small peck on the cheek. “I’d Like To Try The Holiday Special. The… Gingerbread Latte, Was It?” The cashier nodded and wrote down her order on a small notepad, and then looked over to Vriska. “Would you like anything…?”

Vriska blinked a few times, and then looked up at the list of ingredients and pre-mixed drinks. Perhaps she would try something special as well. “I’ll have the…….” She was about to order what looked like a candy cane drink, but then she realized just how sugary the drink would be and shook her head. “No, I’ll just have regular 8lack coffee.” The cashier once again nodded, jotting down the couple’s orders and placing them on a counter behind her, then ringing a bell next to where she placed the order. “You can both take your seats wherever you wish, we’ll have that order to you in a few minutes.” Once Kanaya set down their fee for the drinks, Vriska grabbed Kanaya’s hand and they sat down at a table near the entrance, right next to a large window showing the rest of what was on this strip of the mall.

“I’m enjoying my time here already, Kan.” Vriska smiled, pulling Kanaya’s seat out for her before going to sit down herself, next to Kanaya’s seat. Kanaya sat down in the seat Vriska pulled out, and nodded. “This Is Quite Refreshing After A Month Of Staying At Home.” She glanced out the nearby window and spotted a group of teenagers passing by, all messing with each other and generally having a nice time out and about. “Do You Think We Should Invite Everyone Else To A 12th Perigee’s Party This Sweep?” Vriska scratched the back of her neck. “Well…….. not everyone would 8e a8le to show up, and that’s a lot of preparation for just one day, isn’t it? It’d 8e a gr8 idea 8ut I just think it’d 8e too much hassle with just the two of us setting it up.”

“Nonsense! We Can Have Anything Set Up In A Manner Of Hours And You Know This.” Vriska snorted. “Yeah, either ten hours or one-hundred hours. Still an amount of hours.” Kanaya huffed. “I Think It’s A Fun Idea. We Rarely Get To See Some Of The Other Players. I Haven’t Spoken to Jade In Nearly Two Years.” She sighed. “The Striders And John Live Nearby, At Least, But Some Of Us Decided To Move Back To Alternia And I Don’t Know About The Rest Of The Kids.” Vriska shrugged. “If it’s somethin’ you really want to do, I’d 8e willing to help, 8ut… it’s already Decem8er 12th in human time, so I dou8t we’ll 8e a8le to get everyone together this sweep.” Kanaya nodded. She wasn’t much of a stickler about when it happened, she just wanted to eventually have a big get-together so everyone could catch up.

“8esides, not everyone in the session exactly…….. got along. I still have trou8le talking to Tavros after everything that happened, everything I did to him. I can’t 8ear to see his username show up in my trollian, much less 8e a8le to talk to him f8ce-to-f8ce again.” She stared off into the distant end of the mall strip while saying this. The conversation probably would’ve taken an even more depressing turn if the barista had not arrived with their drinks. They set down the Gingerbread latte and the ordinary, run of the mill black coffee. “Hope you enjoy your drinks.” The said with a somewhat peppy tone, before walking back towards the back of the building to get back to work. Kanaya looked at her drink with a rather critical expression. Now that she was here, with the latte right in front of her… she suddenly felt inclined to use caution while drinking this strange concoction. “Do You Think Dave Was Being Serious When He Said This Drink Tasted Like ‘Critical Ass’?” Vriska was already done with her coffee, which threw Kanaya for a loop, as it’d only been around five seconds. She... definitely seemed a lot more alert now, though. “Honestly, who knows with Dave. May8e he likes the taste of ass? I’ll try it first if you want me to.” Kanaya didn’t know why she felt inclined to listen to Dave, but at the same time she didn’t know why she was so concerned over a caffeinated drink. “No No It’s Quite Fine I’m Just A Little Cautious, Because I Don’t Want To Start Drinking This And Realize I Don’t Like It.” 

She wrapped her lips around the straw the barista placed into the drink, and sipped the latte a small bit. She wanted just a taste. Unfortunately, that small taste exploded into an absolute overload of ginger, prompting Kanaya to cough a few times and regretfully swallow the mess of a concoction. “Jeez, that 8ad?” She nodded. “Whoever Made This Obviously Doesn’t Know How To Portion Their Ingredients.” When it reached her mouth, it felt like she was drinking watered-down sand. “Wanna 8ook a compl8int?” She snorted and got up to toss her coffee cup into a nearby waste bin. Her obvious choice for throwing the cup away was to pitch it halfway across the building with an absolutely DIRECT shot onto the floor next to the waste bin five feet away from her. She stared at the cup for a few seconds, before taking the two or three steps needed to get to the waste bin in the first place, to pick up the coffee cup and simply put it into the trash bin.

Kanaya laughed, and shook her head. “No But I Wouldn’t Mind Talking To Whoever Mixes The Drinks Here. Besides We Have Shopping To Do.” Vriska nodded, and looked to Kanaya’s drink. “If you’re not gonna finish that can I at least try it 8efore you toss it?” Kanaya frowned slightly, almost as if she were concerned for Vriska. “I Don’t Know If You Want To Try It But Here If You Really Want To.” She stood up and handed the drink to Vriska, who proceeded to take a big gulp of it, before nearly coughing it all up on her hands and immediately dunking the half-empty cup into the same waste bin she dropped her cup into. “Fuck, it feels like wet sand!!!!!!!!” Kanaya couldn’t help but start laughing, and walked over to give Vriska a small kiss on the cheek. “I Warned You, Honey.” After spitting into the trash for a good two minutes, they were ready to leave the coffee shop and start actually shopping.

They were seriously getting sidetracked. It was, however, finally time to get to shopping for gifts. “Try Not To Get Lost In The Mob, Okay?” Vriska snickered, and grabbed Kanaya’s hand. “It’d 8e pretty hard to t8ke my eyes off you in the first pl8ce, so I dou8t I’ll get lost.” Kanaya was right, though. As quickly as the mobs of people had so-conveniently vanished, they were all back the instant the two wanted to finally get things done. “Who Should We Buy For First?” Vriska shrugged, then starting looking around at all of the signs. “There’s… a jewelry store, a clothing store, a g8me store…….. we could start at this weapons shop over here and pick up a shitty katana for Dirk!” She laughed, as did Kanaya. “I Think He Would Take That As An Insult So Let’s Just Not And Say We Did.” Vriska groaned. She really wanted to! “Well how a8out we start at this store for nerd stuff and pick up something for John? I’m sure there’s 8ound to 8e something he would go head-over-heels for!!!!!!!!”

“Yes, Actually. Let’s Start With Egbert. I’ll Let You Pick Out His Gift because You Know What He Would Want.” Vriska nodded, and started pulling Kanaya towards the shop. She was eager to get in there and buy the fuck out of John’s 12th Perigee’s present. The shop had a surprisingly low amount of people in it, which once again was a boon from the gods that they were able to even breathe in there during the holidays. Right away, Vriska saw something she KNEW John would really appreciate. She stopped in front of the display, waiting for Kanaya to look at what it was after recovering from the whiplash that was getting dragged along by a full-speed Serket. “...Vriska We Cannot Afford that.” Vriska gestured towards the life-size Headcrab statue and shrugged. “Legally, we can’t afford it!!!!!!!!” Kanaya was quick to respond to that particular reply. “Vriska, No. I Have Had To Bail You Out Of Jail Once Before.”

“Oh come on, that was one time!!!!!!!! I could’ve esc8ped on my own if I wanted to!”

“Honey, My Answer Is Not Changing.”

“Uuuuuuuugh, fine! I don’t even think John has pl8yed Half-Life anyways!”

“Yes I have!!” A voice called out from somewhere within one of the crowds. John was pushing his way through the mob, muttering ‘excuse me’ and ‘sorry’ to each person he accidentally bumped into. “Hey! It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Vriska?” Vriska managed a small smile and nodded. “Yeah, it has!” She was still a bit broken up about John not remembering the relationship they had before the Scratch, but she was mostly over it by now. “We were out picking up gifts for 12th Perigee’s, and would I 8e correct to assume that you’re doing the s8me?” John nodded, and took a quick peek into the shopping bag he had resting on his forearm. “Yeah! And by the way, I have played Half-Life and it’s incredible! What made you say that out loud-” He glanced over to the headcrab statue, then back to Vriska. Suddenly he brought his hands up in a rather excited expression and his eyes lit up. Oh no.

Kanaya placed a hand on her forehead, muttering ‘Oh Gog’ under her breath. Vriska looked at Kanaya, then back to John. Kanaya stepped between Vriska and John. “John I Know What You’re Thinking But It was Simply A Suggestion By Vriska, We Unfortunately Cannot Afford To Purchase This…” She glanced at the label of the statue, which was just a sticker with unformatted arial on it. “...Headcrab. Without Having To Cut Into Someone Else’s Gift Fund.” John’s expression dropped and he shrugged. “Awh, that sucks. I really appreciate that you considered it, though, Vriska! It’s weird that you know me so well!” Vriska laughed nervously. “Yeah, it…….. kinda is. We’ll find something for you while we’re here.” She looked to Kanaya. “Make sure he doesn’t spy on what I get him!!!!!!!!” Kanaya chuckled, and gave Vriska a small wave as she walked off to the other end of the store. “So What Are You Getting And Who Is It For?”

“Oh, I’m glad you asked! I’m really excited to get these all wrapped up once I’m home!” He reached into his shopping bag and dug around a bit. “Uh- gimme a second, there’s a lot here…” He chuckled, and pulled out a small figurine of Smaug from The Hobbit. “This is for Terezi! She hasn’t seen The Hobbit, but I know she likes dragons so I picked it up for her. It’s even colored red!” He dropped it back into the bag and grabbed a box from the top of the pile. “I haven’t seen what’s in this yet but it’s from this game that Karkat plays a lot in his free time. It’s a mystery box, so I hope it’s a character he likes!” Kanaya nodded to reassure that she was listening to John, who pulled out his next and final gift. The rest of the things in the shopping bag were all coupons and supposedly used gift cards. He was really trying his hardest to save money, from the looks of it. 

“Don’t tell Vriska, but I got her a blue dice set! The sides of the D8 even have dots instead of numbers, just like her octet!” He pulled the dice out of a small black bag, holding them up for Kanaya to see.

Kanaya smiled and leaned in to get a closer look at the dice. She’d been around Vriska long enough to know if she would appreciate a gift or not- she would definitely like this. “Well That’s Very Kind Of You John. I’d Been Meaning To Ask, By The Way, But Vriska Always Seems Vaguely Uncomfortable Around You. Do you, By Chance, Know Why?” John slowly placed the dice back into the bag, and dropped the bag into the pile of other gifts and probably expired coupons.

“Uncomfortable around me? Why would she be? I mean, we didn’t really talk much but she did help me reach god tier, so I’d consider her a friend.” He placed a hand to his chin, staring off. “Why would she feel that way…? I almost feel a little bad.” He shook his head. “Well, I hope it’s an issue that gets solved soon, because I don’t know why she’s being like that. I won’t let it get in the way of our friendship, though!” Kanaya smiled. “I’m Glad To Hear That You’re Not Letting This Drive You Away, John. Maybe You Should Talk To Her In Private Sometime About It.” John nodded, and looked back to the checkout line. “Yeah, maybe sometime after Christmas. It was nice talking Kanaya, but I’d better get in line or else I’ll never be able to get out of here.” He gave a small wave, and jogged towards the back of the line, muttering ‘sorry’ and ‘excuse me’ once again to every person he accidentally stumbled into.

Kanaya looked back to the headcrab statue Vriska wanted to get, somewhat reluctant of her decision to leave it there. She shook her head and started looking around the shop for Vriska, who, conveniently enough, was already on her way back to Kanaya with a giant bag stuffed with… something. “Oh No. What Did You Buy?” Vriska held her hands up defensively. “Nothing expensive. It was like fifteen 8ucks.” She pulled it halfway out of the bag. It was a HUGE slimer plush. “Holid8y s8les are the 8est.” She pushed it back into the bag, and looked at the line. “So John went into line?” Kanaya nodded. She wanted to ask about what she talked to John about, but she didn’t want to cross any lines that could potentially ruin their evening.

“That’s… a really long line!!!!!!!!” Vriska looked from the front of the line, all the way to the back. It went all along the length of the store, and even curved along one of the corners somewhat! She cracked her knuckles, and reached her right hand up to her temple. Kanaya winced, and grabbed her wrist. “Vriska! You Can’t Just Mind Control People Like That!” Vriska lowered her hand, and sighed. “What, you want to sit here in line for three sweeps???????? I’m just going to m8ke them move so we can cut to the front, that’s all!” Kanaya was silent for a few seconds, then frowned. “Fine. But Anything More And I’ll Be Very Disappointed In You.” Vriska snickered, and placed her index and middle finger against her temple, diverting all of her focus to the entirety of the line. (excluding John.) All at once, the entirety of the line stood up straight and stepped back two or three times, leaving a nice big open space at the front. John stepped out of the line in utter bewilderment and confusion, and looked up to the front.

He frowned slightly, knowing exactly what happened. He was at least thankful that Vriska left him out, but the people in front of his spot stepped back and closed up where he was in line! “Hey! That’s where my spot was!” Then, the person that was standing in front of him pointed to the front of the line, directly at Vriska. She was sitting on the counter next to the cash register, staring back at John with a conniving grin. He sighed, and walked up to the front. “You didn’t have to do that.” “Oh, I one-hundred percent needed to do that!!!!!!!! Look at how long this line is!” Kanaya rolled her eyes and grabbed the receipt for what they bought. “Just Go Ahead And Check Your Items Out Before Vriska Gets Out Of Hand.” Vriska huffed, and jumped down from the counter. “Oh, come on! This isn’t as 8ad as you’re m8king it out to 8e! They won’t even know I was controlling them once I’m done!!!!!!!! John, go ahead and check out your stuff so these guys don’t get mad at you for cutting once I let them go.” John nervously looked back at the line. They were all in the exact same standing position, staring forward with glazed-over, unblinking eyes. “Um… yeah, sure.” He dropped his bag on the counter and proceeded to check out his items. The cashier didn’t seem to really care what was going on. They weren’t being controlled- it just seemed like one of those days.

“So this isn’t bothering you at all? Uh…” John looked at his name tag. “...Daniel?”

Daniel glared over at Vriska, and shrugged. “She lives just outside the city. This happens more often than you think it would.”


End file.
